Starry Sky
by Kharissa
Summary: For some, the stars are a happy thing. But for Gilbert, the once great nation of Prussia, they are a backdrop for him to relive his most painful moments. Until something unexpected interrupts him and changes his life.


Starry Sky

Gilbert Beilshmidt sat on his brother's front lawn, looking up at the sky. Well, his brother's front lawn, but that's beside the point. He only did this when loneliness destroyed the carefully built wall he had put up. On these occasions, he wouldn't think about himself, or how awesome he was. He wouldn't think of his 5 meters. He would reminisce about him empire days, and let loneliness topple his tall and muscular form to the ground.

Some kids passed him and began to snicker. Probably laughing at the 'old man' siting on the grass. That is, until said 'old man' opened his eyes. The ruby colour never failed to send people like them running. Prussia closed his eyes and hugged his knees to his chest, not caring who saw anymore.

Nights like these, he would live with regrets. Not keeping Elizaveta and Roderich closer. Telling everyone he was okay. Not letting anyone see the sensitive side of him. Most people would call him a self-loving jerk. Most people were at least partially right, because that's the only side he ever showed. He would count the stars, and count the opportunities for not being lonely.

Every time his ego would get in the way, and those times were equal to the amount of stars he would count. When he got to Orion's belt, he would always smile. Gilbert always thought those three stars represented him and his only friends. Francis and Antonio, the best a guy could ask for.

At about 2 in the morning, he would relocate himself to the roof. Easier to see the stars, he would tell himself. He was right, but he also didn't want people to see him blubber like an idiot. At about 2 in the morning, he would think about all he had lost.

He would start with battles and wars, mortality rates forever committed to memory. The more gruesome battles he would recount, sometimes out loud. For each and every battle lost, he would think about each and every soldier that had lost their lives trying to protect their country.

He would think about the countless letters written to those soldier's families. They were a part of his country, so he had to witness everything. Every mother cry, every wife throw themselves to the bed they once shared and cry herself to sleep, every child who would cry wondering where Daddy was.

Tears would fall freely from the Prussian's eyes now, as the faces ran through his head. His head would be buried in his knees at this point; his pride not letting him sob out loud. The pitiful sobs escaped anyways. He would cry louder as he thought of how he had lost his empire, his pride getting in the way and eventually eclipsing the thought of asking for help.

He would lift his head to the stars again. He would use the previous count of stars and compare that amount to the amount of faces running freely in his mind. Every time, there would be no contest; the faces were infinitely more.

Gilbert's red eyes would close as he willed his mind to be blank, but everything leading to the erection and falling of the Berlin wall would flash like a slide show to crimson eyes. His brother scared him the most.

The malicious look when he almost killed Arthur, the frenzied glee from invading Francis, the haunted yet blank look when he saw Gilbert for the last time before the Wall. No matter how hard he would try, Prussia would never be able to get that look out of his head. He would spend a good 15 minutes trying to erase his mind. But the look would only leave when he willed himself to think about the present. His mind would flash to the place he had come to call home, his brother's basement.

Though he would never admit it, he loved that the basement belonged to him. It could be open and closed off to the world, a privilege he relished in. He would blast his music, be wasted or cry his heart out without Ludwig ever knowing a single thing. Which was very good.

So far, this particular night had been no exception. He had followed his pattern exactly. However this night, something changed. Gilbert heard sobbing that was not his own. He looked around to find out who it belonged to. He looked to his right and saw someone sitting on the roof to the right of him. Feeling more loneliness crash down on him, he looked to the sky and decided what to do. He chose to speak to the person on the roof next to his.

"H-hey! You on the roof next to mine!" The person didn't answer. Gilbert sighed and looked away. His head shot up as he realized that this was another opportunity, one that he wouldn't pass up. He looked again at the person and maneuvered his way around the roof and sat beside the person, who was quite obviously male. The man jumped.

Right into Prussia's lap.

Gilbert made no attempt to push the man off or hug him close. He simply waited for the other man to realize where he was; something that didn't take long.

"AAAH! I-*sniffle* I'm so sorry! But w-what are you doing on my roof, my parents will kill you if they find you up here and mmpf-" The boy's rant was cut off by a finger to his lips, forcing the blond to look at the albino.

The violet eyed man gasped against the finger that held his mouth shut when he saw the glowing red orbs that were Gilbert's eyes. Seemingly without thinking, he stroked the outline of Gilbert's eye. Also without thinking, the salt closed his eyes. He felt a finger caressing each eyelid, followed by a brush of his jawline. The owner of the hand's mind caught up to his actions and he pulled his hand away rather harshly. The albino opened his eyes slowly, so as not to startle the blond on his lap.

He allowed said blond o study his face, and his face was studied in return. Realization dawned on the blond's face "W-why are you c-crying?"

Gilbert sighed and look to the stars again, doing more comparisons. When his gaze fell back to earth, he tried making his eyes seem gentle. He didn't know how well he succeeded, considering his eyes were a striking red.

"Because I'm lonely, Birdie. That's what centuries of pushing everyone away will do to you. Now, let me ask you a question." The violet eyed man nodded. "Why are you crying?"

This made the smaller male burst into tears again. He gripped the front of Gilbert's shirt and sobbed into it. At first, Gilbert was shocked at the sudden contact, but he soon regained his senses. He held the blond close and rubbed his back, writing every constellation he could think of. For those who's name escaped his worn-out mind he drew their place in the sky in the blond's back. The violet eyed person eventually calmed down enough to answer the question.

"I-" He paused to sniffle. "I'm crying because I'm also lonely. Do you know what it's like being invisible? Not even my family remembers who I am! Alfred only notices me sometimes, like if he needs something like a back scratch or money for McDonald's! Alfred is a complete jerk, and just because he's louder he gets all the attention. I even get mistaken for him, though we look nothing alike."

"What's your name, Birdie?"

"M-Mathew. What's yours?" Mathew blushed. "And why did you call me Birdie?"

"I was kinda thinking of my bird." Gilbert smiled. The boy on top of him did also, sending butterflies through his stomach.

"So am I the first person to remember who you are for more than 5 minutes?"

Mathew sniffled again, trying to hold back tears. Gilbert rubbed his back soothingly, writing three special words in German. "Until you walk away, that is." Gilbert gave him a confused look. "When I tell people who I actually am, they forget as soon as they walk away. I've tested it on my 'friend', Kris."

The Prussia couldn't help but smirk at this new challenge. He knew he would find it quite impossible to forget this guy. "How about we test this with me, hm? I'll walk back to my roof, and I promise I'll come back, okay?" Mathew could only nod. He got off his new friend and sat down.

Gilbert got up and walked back to his roof. He waited for about 30 seconds then walked back. He sat down and pulled the now-shocked Mathew back into his lap with a gentle smirk. The other was dumbfounded that someone had remembered him. His bottom lip trembled and his eyes watered, but this time out of happiness.

"You-you remembered me," he stammered. Gilbert's answering voice was full of comfort and warmth.

"Of course I did, Birdie. I really don't see how anyone could forget you. Or mistake you for Alfred, whoever he is."

"Mon frere," Mather blurted. His eyes widened in shock when he realized he hadn't said that in English. Gilbert smiled and ruffled his hair a bit.

"It's okay Birdie, I understand a bit of French. Your brother must be a real asshole."

Mathew giggled a bit, sending more butterflies through the albino's stomach. "He is, kind of. What about your family?" Gilbert looked up to the brightest star, the one that reminded him most of Germania, his grandfather. A single tear dripped down his face. He sighed and looked back to his new friend.

"I live with mein bruder."

"Y-your..brother?"

Gilbert nodded. His thoughts drifted to his brother, perhaps sleeping peacefully or perhaps wondering where his albino brother had gotten to.

Said albino looked at his watch. The time was 4:30. He was about to tell his new friend he had to go, but instead he listened to snoring. The ex-nation smiled and lifted his new friend on his shoulders.

Carefully, he climbed down the nearby ladder. He considered going into the violet eyed man's house but thought better of it. What if his parents caught him and thought he was going to do something with their son's 'look alike' brother? He walked through the unlocked front door of his own house and his new friend began to stir.

"You're tired, so I'm going to let you use my bed for the night." The smaller male on his shoulders merely nodded, to tired to do anything else. Gilbert guessed that normally his idea would be met with unnecessary protest, but he was glad that wasn't the case here. Gently, He set his new friend down on the queen-sized bed and climbed in next to him. The blond turned to face him, with a blush on his face.

"Je t'aime, Gil. I know we just met, but you're the first person to remember me."

"Ich liebe dich auch, Birdie. But I should let you now, you're the first person to see the sensitive side of me. Tomorrow I won't be as nice to everyone else, and I'll say I'm awesome, which I am. If you want me to not be like that, just say the word. We may have just met but you're special and I love you, Mathew."

Gilbert felt a set of lips on his own and opened his eyes in shock. He realized what to do and kissed back, loving the comfort it brought him. They broke apart, gasping for air. Mathew smiled the sweetest smile the albino had ever seen.

"I'll love you no matter how you act Gilbert. You don't have to change for me." Mathew pushed Gilbert on his back and laid down on him. He fell asleep to the sound of Gilbert's heartbeat slowing. The red eyed man smiled and pulled his new love closer. His head rested on blond hair. He fell asleep soon after, thinking only about the man he had met under the starry sky


End file.
